Australia denied access to training at Lord's in favor of Team India ahead of WTC 2025 final: Reports
The Australian cricket team was reportedly denied access to training at Lord's in favor of Team India ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final. The WTC 2025 final is scheduled to begin at the iconic Lord's cricket ground on Wednesday, June 11.
According to a report by Fox Cricket (via NDTV Sports), the Australian team was not allowed to train at the venue ahead of the WTC 2025 final.
The report stated that with members of the Indian cricket team training at the same venue ahead of their five-match Test series against England, the ground was not available for training by the Australian team.
While the WTC final begins on June 11, as mentioned above, India begins their Test series against England on June 20. Moreover, the third Test of the series is their only game at Lord's, which is scheduled to begin on July 10.
However, after being denied access early on, the Australian team had the opportunity to train at the venue on Sunday, June 8. Australia skipper Pat Cummins also spoke about how they were abused by the crowd during the Ashes series when they played at Lord's.
"I think this is the best version of the stadium this morning. There's no one around, which is great. I'm sure it will be much more civil this time around. Things got pretty heated in the middle of that Ashes series, but I think a lot of them will have learned their lesson and I'm sure they'll be very polite," he was quoted as saying.
Australia will face South Africa in the WTC 2025 final.
Can Australia defend their WTC final crown?
Australia are set to play their second consecutive WTC final when they take on South Africa this time around. Led by Pat Cummins, they had beaten India in the previous final in 2023.
In the first innings, Australia had posted a solid total of 469 on the back of centuries from Steve Smith (121) and Travis Head (163). The side then bowled India out for just 296 runs as Cummins led from the front with three wickets while Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, and Cameron Green chipped in with two apiece.
The Aussies declared their second innings at 270/8, setting India a daunting target of 444 runs. In response, India were bowled out for just 234 as Australia registered a massive 209-run victory.
Australia will be keen to defend their title this time around against a South African team that is playing the WTC final for the first time.